1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the field of educational, geographical trivia boardgames and method of operating the said boardgame.
2. Description of Prior Art
Trivia question games are well established in American culture. Starting in the 1950's, there have been a variety of games which involve a player correctly answering a question of some type. More recently the television show JEOPARDY, began to create a renewed interest in a variety of trivia-type subjects. This phenomenon also surged with the creation of the boardgame TRIVIAL PURSUIT. Most of these early trivia games involved players proceeding through a gameboard in an organized fashion. While initially these games were of questionable educational use, attempts have been made and are ongoing to create a trivia game to stimulate the learning process. There continues to be a tremendous amount of research in developing a trivia game which cosines the excitement of trivia-type questions and possess an educational value. One area in which improvements are continuing is the use of a trivia-type game which encourages learning about the geography of the various states in the United States. As the following discussion of the prior art reveals, these games all suffer from a variety of drawbacks.
The first category requires that a player follow or be limited to a specific route. The second category of patents focus on a broad geographical region such the United States, a specific continent, or world. The final category requires some knowledge of the location of a specific entity (either state or city), but is usually a puzzle.
Turning to the first category, the first five U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,137,280 ('280), 4,674,752 ('752), 4,988,108 ('108), 5,150,907 ('907) and 5,135,231 ('231) focus primarily on moving on a determined or limited route. The answering of various trivia type questions allows a player to move and/or continue to play and ultimately win. Of particular notice is U.S. Pat. No. '752. In this game, players move through an individual state usually down an existing interstate or throughway. As a player enters various regions, they answer questions. Player movement is restricted by the route. U.S. Pat. No. '280 illustrates another variation of this format. In this game, players are given colored strings and attempt to arrange them onto a pattern on the game board. The game board disclosed is a map of the United States. Players answer questions and try to erect a route to a pre-determined spot (e.g New York to Seattle). The player's movement is limited by the length of colored string they possess and the destination chosen. Unfortunately, these games limit the need for a particular player to learn about the location of a feature within a state. A player would determine the location of a particular city or region by its location on a particular route.
The second group of patents focus on a broad geographical area. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,085,439 ('439) and 4,552,357 ('357) are illustrative of this group. In U.S. Pat. No. '439, players answer a variety of questions about Africa. However, specific landmarks are not noted on the map. In fact, the illustration of the African continent is mainly aesthetic and is not necessary for the playing of the game. U.S. Pat. No. '357 is even more limited in scope. In this game players match major league sports teams with various cities.
The final group of patents focus on learning information on an individual U.S. state. U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,846 ('846) is a puzzle which is designed to help players learn the individual counties and county seats of a state. There are also questions to help players learn information on said state. U.S Pat. No. '649 is game where players must match an individual state with a state flag and state capital. It is possible for a player to deduce the location of a particular county or puzzle piece by its' shape instead the knowledge of its' actual location. Additionally, the multitude of play pieces (usually puzzle parts) increases the danger that a piece can be lost and limiting the enjoyment of the game.